Why overwhelm is the #1 pain point among entrepreneurs

I remember when I first started out as an entrepreneur. My why was simple...I wanted to work from home and take care of my young children. I loved to write, and I knew I had an expertise in something, I just wasn't sure of what that exactly was.

Fast forward 9+ years later, I have three daughters, three businesses, and a mountain of information and content stored on both my brain and my hard drive.

The path of serial entrepreneurship hasn't been easy, and it most certainly hasn't been a straight line to success. There has been a massive learning curve, overcoming of fears and doubts, and pivots. Where I first started isn't where I am now.

Which makes complete sense as I look back on it now!

If you really think about the world and everything involved…nothing is static. Therefore, any information that you receive can change. Especially nowadays with so much information right at our fingertips. 

We’ve got “Google Galore” where you can type in just about any question you can possibly think of and receive that answer within seconds. 

On average (in the U.S. at least) human beings process 105,000 words per half day – which is 23 words per second. When you throw in videos, games, pictures, etc. we reach a volume of 34 gigabytes of information per day! 

THAT’S A TON OF INFORMATION!

If you think about the scope of information to process and add in the fact that all that information changes constantly and quickly…it’s no wonder the most popular pain point for entrepreneurs and small business owners is OVERWHELM!

In fact, feelings of overwhelm was a daily ingredient the first few years I was building my business. Second-guessing, fear of visibility, never-ending to-do lists and lack of organization were too. Knowing what I know now, this was the #1 pain point I had as an entrepreneur and small business owner those first few years.

So what is a small business owner and entrepreneur supposed to do? Well here are a couple of things that may help…

1. Give yourself a break. Seriously! A pat on the back and a quick celebration of the fact you’re building and growing is something you get to do for yourself every single day. I highly encourage you to start if this isn’t in your daily routine!

2. Be realistic with your goals. The 6-figures in 6-days mumbo jumbo that’s out there is NOT authentic. I laugh when people tell me, “You came out of nowhere, Danielle! You’re like an overnight success…”, When in all fairness I’m a success 10-years in the making. I didn’t learn marketing, copywriting, and business strategy overnight. It took me years to get good at business, and I did this on my own timeline. If you are building a business that is greater than just you…the mission/passion-based business owner – know that the massive success comes with time, effort, motivation, and inspiration. Overnight success is extremely rare, and the sooner you let go of expectations, and the “it must go this way in order to work” mentality…the quicker you can grow and get to the good stuff.

3. Hire and learn from those who have been there before you. I’m not a fan of cookie-cutter anything AND I keep myself extremely curious as I look to those who have been in my shoes before and have overcome and succeeded. The true leaders, coaches and consultants who I have had the most success with and learned the most from understand just that. You don’t want to follow any blueprint, program, sales funnel verbatim. You want to use all of that as structure and infuse the rest with you, the business owner, and also keep your ideal clients front of mind. Having someone to learn from will absolutely fast track your success, and also give you confidence and reassurance that you yourself can overcome and make it through to the next level.

All in all, overwhelm is absolutely normal when you're stepping into the unknown and overcoming overwhelm is a process, not a race and as entrepreneurs there's strength in numbers. You absolutely don't have to take on everything alone!

Which is a big reason why I've created a LIVE experience for entrepreneurs and small business owners. November 1-3, 2018 we're launching the first event of several in Charlotte, NC. If you're feeling the overwhelm and want to understand your next steps with your business, come and join us! General admission tickets are on sale now at https://entrepreneurcitylive.com/.